Page 28 of More than a Companion

Honora tried to speak, but the words would not come. Lady Albina had set out a small, flickering hope and now Honora could not help but cling to it. She could only nod, seeing the way that her friend’s eyes flared and seeing the bright, excited smile which spread across her face.

It was time now to be bold.

Chapter Nine

Robert gazed disinterestedly down at his plate. He had no appetite and yet knew that it would be best for him to eat something if he wanted to regain even a little of his strength.

“My Lord?”

He looked up, to see his butler already at the door.

“Lord Venables has come to call.”

There was no eagerness in Robert’s heart to see his friend, but he nodded regardless. His mind was swirling with thoughts but mayhap it would be good to share them with another.

“Very well,” he said, heaving a sigh. “Bring… something else for us to eat.”

He shook his head down at his plate, as though the food itself were at fault for refusing to be appetizing enough for him to enjoy.

The butler nodded and left the room without a word, returning just as silently only a few moments later with Lord Venables. Robert had expected to see a frown upon the man’s face or, at the very least, a grimace, but he was astonished to see Lord Venables’ eyes wide with concern and his lips pursed as he strode into the room.

“You are unwell.”

“I havebeenunwell,” Robert corrected, not yet rising from his chair, but gesturing to Lord Venables to join him at the dining table. “Forgive me for not removing to the drawing-room or the parlor – I have not yet broken my fast today… although I have not found myself eager to do so either.”

“I heard it all,” Lord Venables murmured, sitting down quickly although his gaze was still on Robert. “You were taken ill at Lord Hastings’ soiree?”

“I was.” Robert hesitated, not certain whether to tell Lord Venables everything but, eventually, choosing to do so. “Someone made sure that I was, deliberately.”

“This was done to you on purpose?” Lord Venables did not sound disbelieving, much to Robert’s relief, but there was a small degree of skepticism in his eyes. “Why?”

Robert spread his hands.

“I do not know,” he replied, quietly. “You need not believe me, for it does sound quite ridiculous, but I am sure of it now.”

The maids brought in a tray of cakes and another with coffee and china cups, setting them down before Robert and Lord Venables but, eyeing them, Robert found still that his appetite was not at all whetted.

“The accident with the carriage,” he began, as Lord Venables quickly reached for a slice of fruit cake, clearly a little hungry. “That was done purposefully, with the sole aim of injuring me. This illness has been brought on by something which I was given – although I am relieved that I did not drink all of it.”

His lips turned upwards as he thought of Miss Gregory who had reacted so swiftly, and with such purpose that he had been unable to throw back his drink as he had intended. The very next moment, that smile was wiped from his face as he recalled how he had thrown recriminations at her, and the shock on her face as he had said it.

He was thoroughly ashamed of himself.

“You will have to explain this from the beginning,” Lord Venables stated, firmly. “Every detail. I must know precisely what took place if I am to believe you.”

Taking in a deep breath, Robert set his shoulders and began to explain. Lord Venables listened without a word, although when Robert reached the part where Miss Gregory had thrown out a hand and knocked the glass away from his mouth, Lord Venables’ eyes widened with surprise, his brows lifting.

“She is a courageous young lady,” he said – a statement which Robert could not disagree with. “To have done such a thing without hesitation and going solely on her own instinct…” he shook his head, “that could have had severe consequences, should you have been quite well.”

Robert had not thought of such a thing before. Grimacing, he dropped his head into his hands, feeling all the more embarrassed that he had behaved in such a way.

“I spoke very harshly to her,” he said, gruffly, hating to admit to such a thing, but finding the urge to do so growing steadily. “I ought not to have done, I know, but I did.”

“In what way?” Lord Venables asked, picking up a cup and pouring some coffee into it, before doing the same for Robert. “Did you say something to her you ought not to have done?”

The urge to keep the details to himself prevented Robert from replying for a few moments, as he struggled against his pride. Seeing his friend’s lifted eyebrow, he let out a heavy sigh.

“If you must know,” he said, with as much dignity as possible, “When Miss Gregory knocked the glass from my hand, the brandy went everywhere, including on my face, neck, and clothing, and did so just as the Duke and Duchess of Strathaven came into the room.”

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